Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach Bret Bielema received nearly $2 million in his contract related to the buyout payment he owed Wisconsin. / Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve Berkowitz, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve Berkowitz, USA TODAY Sports

College football's leader in many ways, the Southeastern Conference this season has regained the distinction of having the highest average compensation for its football head coaches.

The SEC's 14 coaches are making more than $3.3 million a man, according to USA TODAY Sports' annual analysis of major-college football coaches' pay. That represents an average increase of nearly $560,000 and carries the SEC â?? also the leader in 2011 -- past the Big 12, which had the highest average last season.

In addition, 11 of the SEC's 13 public-school coaches entered their current contract years with the possibility of attaining at least $700,000 in bonuses, including six who had at least $1 million as a maximum.

Big 12 coaches are averaging nearly $3.1 million, which means they are closer to those in the SEC this time than they were in 2011, when the gap was almost $500,000.

Big Ten coaches remain, on average, the third-highest-paid group at roughly $2.6 million. But they continue to gain ground, from roughly $560,000 per coach from being the second-highest paid group in 2011, to $475,000 back in 2012 and $435,000 this season. Since 2011, the average pay among Big Ten coaches has risen almost 36%.

Atlantic Coast Conference coaches ($2.28 million average) nudged back in front of those from the Pac-12 ($2.24 million, a 40% increase since 2011).

The SEC's average this season is being pushed by one-time compensation to new coaches at Arkansas and Tennessee to cover buyouts to their previous schools â?? but those are not the only factors.

Arkansas' total of almost $5.2 million for Bret Bielema includes nearly $2 million related to the buyout payment he owed Wisconsin. Last season, Arkansas paid John L. Smith $850,000 after paying Bobby Petrino more than $3.6 million in 2011.

Tennessee's total of nearly $4.9 million for Butch Jones includes $1.4 million related to Jones' buyout to Cincinnati and a $500,000 signing bonus.

Then there is Texas A&M, jumping Kevin Sumlin's pay from more than $2.4 million, including buyout considerations to Houston, to $3.1 million. LSU, Georgia and Florida also provided raises, ranging from $250,000 to $549,000. And Kentucky went from paying Joker Phillips $1.7 million last season to paying Mark Stoops $2 million this season.